Two American women were kicked off a flight from London’s Heathrow airport this week after a brawl reportedly broke out over one of the passengers wearing a Make America Great Again hat.
According to a report from The Sun newspaper, the fight broke out between the two women after one demanded that the other remove their MAGA hat as they waited to board a British Airways flight to Austin, Texas, from Heathrow on Monday afternoon.
After the woman wearing the hat featuring Donald Trump’s trademark campaign slogan refused to take off her cap, punches began to be thrown. The British newspaper did not report which woman threw the first punch.
Despite the altercation breaking out in the terminal, the two women still boarded the plane.
However, as they were seated in the same premium economy section, the dispute continued, exchanging obscenities.
Finally, the captain called for police to intervene, and officers removed them from the flight.
A source from Heathrow airport told The Sun: “With the U.S. Presidential election so close, tensions are sky high. Airline crew could not run the risk of a full-scale punch-up at 30,000ft.”
“It was extraordinary,” the source continued, saying it is believed to be the first time a passenger’s baseball cap delayed a flight.
In a statement provided to Sky News, London’s Metropolitan Police said that officers at Heathrow were called to the scene of an incident at 12:45 pm on Monday.
“A woman in her 40s and a woman in her 60s made counter allegations of affray,” the police force said. So far, neither woman has been arrested.
All told, the altercation resulted in a two-hour delay for the flight.
British Airways said: “We apologised to our customers for the delay and got them on the way as quickly as possible.”